Curly Locks was a little girl who lived near the roadside. Her home was a big white house. An old oak tree shaded the house. A pair of bluebirds had a nest in a hole in the tree.
Curly Locks liked the shade of the oak tree when the sun was hot. Every day she came out of doors to play on the grass. She brought her dolls with her.
One day Curly Locks saw a little gray squirrel sitting up eating an acorn. She at once liked him and called him Fluffy Tail. Fluffy Tail’s body was only about ten inches long. His tail was as long as his whole body. It curved like a plume over his humped back.
When the squirrel saw Curly Locks,
he was afraid. He dropped the acorn and up the tree he flashed to his nest. His tail waved behind him like a banner. He was gone so quickly that Curly Locks thought it might have been a wood fairy.
That night Curly Locks told her father about the little gray squirrel. Her father knew about the squirrel. He said Fluffy Tail and his mate had come to the oak tree to live only a few days before.
The squirrels had been living in a beech tree farther down the road. It was not a very safe place. Dogs barked at them and chased them. A pair of bluejays that had a nest in the beech tree flew at them and tried to peck them. Boys threw stones at them. That was why they had moved to the oak tree.
The squirrels liked the oak tree in Curly Locks’ yard. Its bark was so rough that their tiny feet could cling to it without slipping. It was easy to run up and down such a tree.
The big oak tree was a good place for a squirrel’s nest. There were many big forking branches, and there was a hollow in it that was big enough for a squirrel family’s winter food supply.
The Fluffy Tails built their nest high in a fork of the tree. It was made of twigs, dry leaves, moss, and feathers. From the ground it looked like nothing but a big bunch of leaves.
The Fluffy Tails had to hurry to get the nest done. It was almost time for their babies to come. Every summer from three to five little squirrels came to live with them.
The nest was nearly done when the squirrels first saw Curly Locks. It was too late to find another tree and begin another nest. But they were very much afraid of her.
ran up the tree as fast as they could. Then they would chatter at her as though they were very angry.
One day when Curly Locks was under the tree, one of the squirrels grew bolder. He ran out on a long, low limb above her and leaped to the ground.
“Oh, you darling!” cried Curly Locks. “Don’t be afraid of me. I wouldn’t hurt you for the world.”
Then Curly Locks had a bright idea. She had some peanuts in the house; maybe the squirrel would like them. She went in and got a handful, but when she came out the squirrel ran up the tree. She threw the peanuts about on the ground but the squirrel did not come down.
Next morning, though, she noticed that the peanuts were gone. Curly Locks was so glad she clapped her hands and ran to tell her mother. By and by the shy little animals would learn that she was their friend, she thought.
Every day Curly Locks brought out something for the Fluffy Tails to eat. It was not long before they stopped running away from Curly Locks. Soon they were sure it was quite safe for them to eat the food even when she was there watching them.
When Curly Locks took peanuts to the squirrels, they ran to meet her. Each little Fluffy Tail sat up on his hind legs and ate the peanuts she threw to him. He picked up only one peanut at a time, and held it between his forepaws. His forepaws were like little hands, with four fingers and a thumb. His hind paws were like feet, with five little toes and sharp toenails.
As the squirrel held the nut with both his hands, he cracked it with his sharp teeth. Then he dropped the shell and quickly put the nut meat into his mouth.
When the squirrels had enough to eat for one time, they carried the rest of the nuts away. They buried them under the bushes. They put each nut in a different place. They dug holes in the ground, put in the nuts, and then scratched earth over them.
When they were hungry, they went to one of the storage places and dug up some of the nuts for lunch.
Soon both the squirrels became even more friendly with Curly Locks. They often asked her for food. They stood up on their hind legs and begged like little dogs. When they did that, Curly Locks threw two nuts to them. If they wanted more, they had to beg for them.
Every day the squirrels came nearer. At last they took food from the little girl’s hands. After that they were never afraid. They even climbed to her shoulder. They hunted for nuts in the pockets of her coat and in her hat.
One day Curly Locks brought them some animal crackers. The squirrels sat up and nibbled all around the edges of the crackers, just as babies nibble cookies. Curly Locks laughed at them.
It was a happy day when the Fluffy Tails brought their babies down the tree to see their little friend. There were five babies, about half grown, as pretty and playful as little kittens.
The baby squirrels learned how to crack peanuts. They helped themselves from the dollies’ tea table. They chased one another up and down and around the tree, like children playing tag. Every sunny day, Curly Locks watched the little family at their play.
Autumn came, with wind and rain and frost. The air was full of red and yellow leaves. In the woods across the road, acorns and beechnuts lay on the ground. There were pine cones, too, packed with oily seeds.
The squirrels’ playtime could not last any longer. Soon the Fluffy Tails were running about their work. They were getting food and storing it away for the winter months.
Even the baby squirrels were busy gathering nuts. With the nuts in their mouths, they scampered up the tree to the deep hole in the trunk. It took many days of hard work to fill the storehouse.
One day Curly Locks noticed that all the Fluffy Tails were growing winter coats. Their fur grew long and thick to keep them warm. It also became darker in color.
When winter came the little girl did not see much of her furry friends. They slept much of the time, like little bears. Sometimes, on bright days, they came down the tree for a frolic. They left their tiny footprints in the snow.
Curly Locks could not play out-of-doors when it was very cold. But she often pressed her nose against the windowpane and looked up at the snow-covered nest. She felt very sorry for the squirrels, for she thought they must be very cold.
“Mother dear,” she said, “just see how the wind shakes the home of the squirrels. The Fluffy Tails must be nearly frozen.”
But the Fluffy Tails were not cold. Indeed, they were as snug as could be. When the weather was very cold, they went into the hole in the tree. They had a warmer nest there. They wrapped their fluffy tails around them and went to sleep. They stayed in this snug, warm nest until the days were warmer.
One day when the sun shone bright, Curly Locks saw that the squirrels had moved back to their nest in the fork of the tree. She was thinking they must be hungry when she had such a happy thought that she clapped her hands. She thought she would give a party for the squirrels. So she popped some corn and put it out on the sunny window sill.
The squirrels came running down the trunk of the tree. When they reached the ground, they sat up on the snow and sniffed. It was funny to see how they wrinkled their little noses. In another minute they were up on the window sill, enjoying the feast.
By the time spring came the squirrel babies were quite grown-up. They left home and went hunting for mates for themselves. Then they looked for trees with holes in them. When they had found trees that they liked, they built nests for themselves and set up housekeeping in them.
The old squirrels stayed on in the oak tree. They had lived together a long time. They were very fond of each other. In June they got fresh leaves and twigs and made the old nest as good as new. By midsummer the nest was full of new babies.
One day Curly Locks was having a tea party for her dollies under the tree. Suddenly the whole family of squirrels raced down the tree and invited themselves to the party.
The little squirrels behaved as nicely as anyone could ask. They sat up like polite little dogs and begged for food.
“And that,” said Curly Locks, “was the nicest surprise party I ever had.”
Adapted
Nguồn: Wikisource English — By the Roadside (Dunn and Troxell)/Curly Locks and the Fluffy Tails. Văn bản được nhập và định dạng lại; CC BY-SA 4.0, có thể áp dụng điều khoản bổ sung của tác phẩm.